1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to handling systems for use on board an ocean going vessel. More particularly, the present invention relates to a shipboard capture and alignment mechanism which is used in the recovery of a body deployed from the vessel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is currently a need to lift marine research equipment or other types of deployable bodies from the deck of a ship and then deploy the research equipment over the stern of the ship into the water to a given depth. The research equipment is suspended by a cable and can weigh as much as 8,000 lb. The deployment and recovery of the research equipment must be possible under varying sea conditions and while the ship is underway.
The deployable body, which is stored on the ship's deck, is raised from the deck and then relocated to a position where it is suspended over the stern of the ship. It is then deployed by paying out the cable which suspends the deployable body. The cable is fairleaded through a sheave with the sheave being driven in and out to locate the deployable body over the ship's stern or back over the ship's deck.
There is a requirement to suspend the deployable body/research equipment by a mechanism attached to the sheave while the sheave is being driven either in or out. Without such a mechanism, the cable suspending the deployable body would need to be hauled in or payed out by the winch in synchronization with the driving of the sheave in order to maintain the deployable body's vertical position above the deck which is needed to clear the ship's stern.